Millennials Are Failing Because We Are Failing Them: The STEM Gap

Many of today’s Millennial students lack the skills necessary to fill the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) positions of tomorrow. Furthermore, a majority of U.S. students from low-income and minority households have an even greater gap when it comes to STEM knowledge. These shortages in STEM talent have broad implications, not only for our current and future workforce, but also for the burgeoning middle class we hope to foster.

Why is this important? According to the United States Department of Commerce Economics & Statistics Administration, STEM creates a nation of innovation and global competitiveness because it drives the generation of ideas and propels the creation of new industries. Moreover, growth in STEM jobs is three times faster than in other jobs; STEM occupations are projected to grow by more than 17 percent. As such, we should not sit idly as the U.S. unemployment numbers start to decline. There are some great opportunities lurking in a variety of STEM fields and we can almost be assured of another “downturn” if the right talent is not prepared to take those job opportunities.

How serious is our problem?Successful STEM Education states the issue perfectly. “Too few of our high school graduates are ready for college coursework or careers in STEM areas.” And, if that doesn’t get you worried, consider a recent comparison by the Level Playing Field Institute, which ranks the United States as 52nd in the world for quality of mathematics and science education, and a “soft” rank of 5th in overall global competitiveness. Not to mention that the United States ranks 27th amongst developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in these fields.

Need more proof? Here is a sobering statistic, noted in the report, “There are more foreign students studying in U.S. graduate schools than the number of U.S. students and over two-thirds of the engineers who receive Ph.D’s from U.S. universities are not U.S. citizens.” This means that these foreign students are studying here at the world’s best educational institutions, only to take their knowledge home to compete against us.

How did this happen? Successful STEM Education also cites some reasons, to include; “lack of authentic learning activities in STEM subjects, little time for science in elementary school, inadequate K-12 teacher preparation in STEM content, and insufficient collaboration between K-12 and higher education institutions to smooth student transitions from high school to college.”

Washington, wake up. If we want to keep our reputation as the world’s best innovators, we must support Millennials in receiving the education and training they need to lead the way. I’m not saying that our current administration isn’t trying. President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal did include several investments designed to improve teaching of STEM subjects for teachers and students; however, this is a much larger problem that needs to be addressed both at home and at school.

It’s never too early. According to Natural Start Alliance, STEM subjects help young students to integrate knowledge across disciplines and contextual settings. “The traditional approach of teaching topics in isolation does not support the ways that children learn best.” Most academic instruction encourages the children to be passive and just receptive instead of active or even interactive. Blend science and math. Instead of just handing a child a boring math worksheet, take them outside to count rocks, leaves, flowers, cars… I love adding in financial literacy, obviously.

Make your world your classroom. For instance, while shopping in a store, challenge your young kids and grandkids to count out the fresh produce and to figure out the cost if you purchase three of something rather than one. When you get to the check-out counter, let the kids pay for some small item with cash and figure out the money and the change. This helps make math relevant.

It’s never too late. It can be too late to foster the creativity needed for our kids, of all socio-economic strata, to compete on the world platform of innovation. In a 2012 Forbes article, Rodney C. Adkins, senior vice president of IBM’s Systems & Technology Group stated that this problem must also be owned by private industry. His recommendation is in the form of public-private partnerships, which can help “invigorate and maintain students’ interest in STEM.”

What does this mean? If you are working for a STEM-related corporation, you can encourage your employer to support this type of education for youth and also provide internships so young people can see STEM in action. Adkins also notes that, “we need to improve the composition of the STEM education pipeline to include more women and underrepresented minorities. Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S., they hold less than 25% of STEM-related jobs. At the same time, 43% of school-age children today are of African American, Latino, or Native American descent. Yet of all the engineering bachelor’s degrees in the U.S., less than 15% are awarded to underrepresented minorities.” Of course there is education to supply our youth with tools. The National Education Association lists their recommendations for “The 10 Best STEM Resources” for Pre-K – 12 learning. You can speak to your children’s school to make sure that these and other resources are available for your offspring.

The bottom line? Our global competiveness affects all of our lives. We Baby Boomers need to support our Millennial children and grandchildren to make sure that they and their offspring are getting the STEM-related education that will inspire our youth to be more innovative, thus creating more jobs and a better and brighter future for themselves and their world.

I’m a New York Times #1 Best Selling Author of 27 books all empowering families (and their kids) to take charge of their financial lives. I make money lessons fun, interesting and a family affair. I also speak the new language of kids: mobile video gaming. I’ve released 3 ...